Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

20 reviews

sgonzo's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Rape, Police brutality, Sexism, Suicide, Ableism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Sexual violence

thenonbinaryc's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Fatphobia

youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book fucked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, War, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Rape

danycatreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Una colección de cuentos muy difícil de leer en el mejor sentido posible. Muchos cuentos de terror clásico como casas abandonadas, o apariciones y desapariciones repentinas, pero lo que une a todo el libro son las voces de mujeres, creando personajes difíciles y complejos. No todos los cuentos me encantaron, pero comprendo a lo que la autora quería llegar, y para mí eso es suficiente. Están hechos con tanta delicadeza que no puedo darle otro rating que no sea casi cinco estrellas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Medical trauma, Classism, Medical content, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Mental illness, Hate crime, Death, Gore, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Grief, and Fatphobia

ahnminjim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Abortion

Minor: Trafficking, Ableism, Eating disorder, and Rape

margztgz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm so stunned by this book I don't even know where to start. This is definitely one of the best short story collections I've ever read; every story was good. Every word uttered and story included was necessary and spellbinding. Mariana Enriquez knows how to capture the gothic and grotesque, and mixes it with scenes of Buenos Aires and the underbelly of society and suffering in a really interesting way. I became attached quickly to all of the characters, and intrigued yet horrified by many of the scenes. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Suicide, and Violence

burnyayhayley's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This collection is truly impressive. There are some seriously disturbing images and each story achieves a strong sense of unease by the end, sometimes in ways, I did not expect to actually find uneasy. 

The author has a very in-depth grip on characterization and is consistently excellent at giving us the correct amount of information so that all the characters feel real and important and tangible, but when you are finished you still feel slightly robbed of closure, which in the context of horror short fiction, is perfect. 

However, I knocked off a star because I am not feeling so impressed by the writing or the content that I am overwhelmed—I just feel a normal amount of impressed, if that makes sense. It's excellent short fiction, but it did not always hit me where I hoped it would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Trafficking

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

noel_b's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A creepy collection of stories that are unsettling, sometimes disgusting, and always, always vivid. Every story goes to a different part of Argentina and explores a different version of life at its margins.

Most of the stories have a gothic feel to them and the prose (at least in Spanish) managed to describe my home country in a way that felt both familiar and alien. Comforting and disturbing. The author knows exactly how to latch on to the shadows we tend to look over, and make them deeper, darker, impossible to ignore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Self harm, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Mental illness

patricia_epub's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Police brutality